We’re in Lake County: Tierra Lemon

Tierra Lemon is a business development professional with a Master of Science in Social Work – MSSW with a specialization in Clinical Mental Health from Columbia University in the City of New York. Tierra is also an experienced Board Member with a demonstrated history of working in non-profit agencies. Skilled in Community Organizing, REDCap, Motivational Interviewing, Research, and SPSS.

What is your current role? How would you describe the work that you do?

I am currently the Director of the Gun Violence Prevention Initiative in the Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office. The work I do is primarily focused on implementing a variety of trauma-informed programs and fostering county-wide collaboration to address the root causes of gun violence.

What was your Chicago Scholars experience like?

This is a challenging question for me to answer in the past tense due to the fact that Chicago Scholars is true to their overall vision of “once a scholar, always a scholar”. There has not been a moment in my life where I have felt like I was no longer a part of Chicago Scholars. They do an excellent job at always finding ways to include, uplift, and support me in my personal and professional development.

How did Chicago Scholars support you to be the person you are today?

Chicago Scholars supported me in being the person I am today by putting me in rooms where I saw people who looked like me, exceeding in life.

What advice would you have given yourself just after being accepted into the program? What advice do you have for current Scholars?

Advice that I would have given myself just after being accepted into the program is that my route to success does not have to look like everyone’s around me. And with that, that doesn’t make my route wrong. Just different. Advice that I have for current scholars is to not feel like you are obligated to limit your skills to one type of career path but instead be open to others in which you can utilize your full potential.

What does being from Chicago mean to you now?

For me, being from Chicago simply means to not be a product of my environment, but instead, a product for my environment. Chicago is the place that helped me to turn my pain into passion and ultimately, helped me find my purpose in this work of gun violence prevention.

What do you wish people knew about Chicago Scholars, as well as the city of Chicago?

Something that I wish people knew about Chicago Scholars is even after years and years of educational, geographical, and professional changes, Chicago Scholars will still be there to support you in each endeavor.